Saturday, January 10, 2009

Not only are Filmi Girl Bol! and I going to be on the BBC Asian Network's "Love Bollywood" show Sunday morning, Akshay Kumar miiiiight be in the studio too! So, you know, listen in! (And never tell me how stupid I sound. I already know.)

ooh, how does one listen to the show? PLEASE tell me it's on the net! [or else maybe you can sneak in a cell phone and record it and post it on the blog? I can come up with lots of other possibly illegal ideas - I wanna listen!]

Not totally sure if it will work outside of the UK (it should do...) but just go to the BBC radio page http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/ and choose Asian Network. You can "listen again" to any show for a week on the BBC iPlayer at http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/

Argh, I sat through an entire episode with Rajeev Masand before I realized it was the wrong one! But then I was doubly happy to hear you! Also, that girl who called in kind of struck a chord when she said she didn't understand why anybody would want a woman as miserable as Manisha (although she had good reason)... but then as you guys pointed out, heroines in Hindi films aren't chased for their stellar personalities. Suspension of disbelief!

CC2C isn't looking too good is it?

PS - how did the Dave tennant worship go? He still looks wrong to me, somehow. Like God got tired of constructing his face halfway through. That sounds mean, but I don't know how else to explain it.

Congrats! Hope you had loads of fun. Loved your take on Dil Se though I am more of the I-hate-that-film (like the caller in the show) school.

And David Tennant is awesome (I loved him in He Knew He Was Right) but I have still not forgiven him for making me watch a very boring Dr. Who where he DID NOT TURN UP! (I was ignorant of the fact that there were other doctors before him whom I did NOT want to see!)

Beth, I listened to the interview and thought both you and Filmi Girl did a great job. The hosts were pretty over the top, but you more than held your own--they sounded surprised by your depth of knowledge.

I have to confess that I'm closer to your opinion on Dil Se--it's visually striking, and I admire what Mani Ratnam was trying to do, but neither the drama nor most of the dance numbers ("Chaiya Chaiya" and "Jiya Jale" excepted) work for me. But it was great to hear you and Filmi talking about the movie and interacting with the callers. Congratulations!

Memsaab - Yeah, the podcast is the really short version of the show. Try the online streaming thing until Saturday (they're only up for a week).

Amrita - True confessions time about my actual opinion of Dil Se: that caller - and the guy who wrote in to say he had seen the movie over 30 times and still wasn't sure what to make of it - resonated with me too. I don't actually love Dil Se - Kara does, and since she did all the leg work to get us on the show, I figured I didn't have the right to nit-pick her selection - but I do find it really interesting, offering lots to think about. We didn't even get to the idea that the story is an analogy about issues of national unity - maybe that's a touchy subject, but it would have been a great conversation. I too do not understand why anyone would fall for Manisha's character, especially after her repeated "leave me alone"s.

Re: CC2C: no, especially after the "chinky" comment. But it is written by the fellow who did Bluffmaster!, which is one of my very favorites, so I'm cautiously optimistic.

DT was faaaaaaaaaaaab! He did a twitchy, bouncy, uneasy, all-or-nothing, and very funny teenagery sort of Hamlet. I loved it.

Bollyviewer - :) I hope it wasn't a Christopher Eccleston one that you didn't like! I love him!

Pessimissimo - Yeah, that's how they roll, I think :) It was tons of fun. I don't think they realized how hard-core we are - at least not until Sanni wrote in and talked about our blogs. I think having "regular people" on the show is great, though, especially when revisiting older films. It's nice to share ideas about the movies (and music) in addition to hearing what the filmmakers and stars have to say.

my other filmi projects

Bong Along - a blog on vintage Bengali movies co-written by Indie Quill and me (and perhaps a few very friendly appearances by other friends as well).

Masala Zindabad - the podcast by Indie Quill and me, often featuring other writers and fans as guests. Masala Zindabad is an affectionate and thoughtful look at the broad range of themes that define Bollywood and make Bollywood defy definition. Available at iTunes.

Mysterious Order of the Skeleton Suit - the Agents of M.O.S.S. are a shadowy confederation of like-minded writers, broadcasters, creators, and jetsetters who have banded together in a bold mission to bring international intrigue and pop entertainment to the masses. Can anyone stand in the way of their diabolical schemes?

pragmatics

Text (c) 2005–2015, Beth Watkins. The ideas and opinions expressed in this site are mine alone unless otherwise attributed. They do not necessarily represent the views of my employer or of any other organization or website with which I may be associated.